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ile hundreds of thousands of US federal workers are expected to be furloughed Monday. And dozens of national parks and monuments are closed as part of the government shutdown, Lady Liberty is open for business. The Landmark New York City site will re-open on Monday. After New York Governor Andrew Cuomo vowed to use state funds to keep the Statue of Liberty operating.

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>> We have contacted the Federal Department of the Interior. And we've worked out an arrangement where New York State will fund the federal employees who operate the Statue of Liberty.>>

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osures over the weekend forced tourists and students to alter their plans. They expressed their frustration where ferries normally embark for the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor.

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>> I can't take my youth group to the Statue of Liberty, to Ellis Island, because the government is acting like a bunch of big babies.>> During the last shutdown in 2013, a number of Governors used state funds to keep parks open, including the Statue of Liberty. Which, at the time, cost $61,600 a day to keep open.

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Cuomo on Sunday said the site generates tourism revenue and he doesn't want to lose that income. But the Democratic Governor said keeping it open was also symbolic.>> The Statue of Liberty, America, New York, are all about immigration. It's all about welcoming people, it's all about bringing people here.

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The concept of closing the doors to immigrants is repugnant to the concept of America.>> Cuomo, who recently declared his state as the, quote, progressive capital of the nation. Is widely considered a potential White House candidate in the 2020 US Presidential election.